Fifty-four Robe Spiider LED wash beams are a vital part of the lighting rig (photo: Todd Moffses)
USA - Sooner Routhier and Robert Long of SRae Productions are behind the production design for Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom world tour, with Ashley Frangipane (Halsey) herself the show’s creative director.
54 Robe Spiider LED wash beams, a new investment by DCR Nashville, lighting vendors for the US legs of the tour, are a vital part of the lighting rig.
The tour started in autumn 2017, and SRae submitted their initial proposals in May of last year. At the start, Halsey suggested a Romeo & Juliet-esque romantic look, so original versions of the set were based on this. However, once SRae began to also design promo and award show performances, an alternative approach evolved.
When it came to specifying lighting kit for the tour, lighting director on the road Craig Rutherford - who has worked with Halsey in this role since the latter stages of the 2015-16 Badlands tour campaign to promote her ground-breaking debut studio album - suggested Spiiders as they are currently his favourite wash light!
“I'm very much a "right tool for the job" type of person,” says Craig who likes the fact that Spiiders can fill a variety of roles.
24 Spiider are positioned all over the overhead rig on three flown trusses staggered to mirror the shape and depth variations of the large steps on the set below. Four are positioned above the band with another eight behind them for effect.
The balance are on the deck, lining the sides of the steps and stairways, where they can wash across the whole set and side light the artist as well as create some stunning overall pixel effects. The final eight Spiiders are within the B-stage structure at FOH.
All the Spiiders are running in wide mode to enable an array of fluid kinetic pixel effects that are used to accent and highlight some of the intricacies in the music.
Technical production specialist DCR Nashville has been supplying lighting for the tour since April 2018 and are extremely happy with the decision made to buy the Spiiders says general manager John Schirmer.
(Jim Evans)

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